Whistleblowing Policy

What is Whistleblowing?

In this policy ‘Whistleblowing’ means the reporting by employees of suspected misconduct, illegal acts or failure to act within the Company.

The aim of this Policy is to encourage employees and others who have serious concerns about any aspect of the Company’s work to come forward and voice those concerns.

Employees are often the first to realise that there may be something seriously wrong within the Company. ‘Whistleblowing’ is viewed by the Company as a positive act that can make a valuable contribution to the Company’s efficiency and long-term success. It is not disloyal to colleagues or the Company to speak up. The Company is committed to achieving the highest possible standards of service and the highest possible ethical standards in public life and in all its practices. To help achieve these standards it encourages freedom of speech.

If you are considering raising a concern you should read this Policy first. It explains:

the type of issues that can be raised

how the person raising a concern will be protected from victimisation and harassment

how to raise a concern, and

what the Company will do

If you are unsure whether to use this Policy or want independent advice at any stage, you may contact the independent charity Public Concern at Work on 020 7404 6609. Their advisers can give you free confidential advice on how to raise a concern about serious malpractice at work.

What is the aim of the Policy and when does it apply?

2.1. Aims of the Policy

The Policy is designed to ensure that you can raise your concerns about wrongdoing or malpractice within the Company without fear of victimisation, subsequent discrimination, disadvantage or dismissal.

It is also intended to encourage and enable you to raise serious concerns within the Company rather than ignoring a problem or ‘blowing the whistle’ outside.

This Policy aims to:

encourage you to feel confident in raising serious concerns at the earliest opportunity and to question and act upon concerns about practice

provide avenues for you to raise those concerns and receive feedback on any action taken

ensure that you receive a response to your concerns and that you are aware of how to pursue them if you are not satisfied

reassure you that you will be protected from possible reprisals or victimisation if you have made any disclosure in good faith.

2.2. Scope of this Policy

This Policy is intended to enable those who become aware of wrongdoing in the Company affecting some other person or service, to report their concerns at the earliest opportunity so that they can be properly investigated.

The Whistle Blowing Policy is not intended to replace existing procedures:

If your concern relates to your own treatment as an employee, you should raise it under the existing grievance or harassment procedures

If a client or supplier has a concern about services provided to him/her, it should be raised as a complaint to the Company

2.3. Who can raise a concern under this Policy?

The Policy applies to all:

employees of any Group Company

employees of contractors working for the Company, for example, agency staff, builders and drivers

employees of suppliers

those providing services under a contract or other agreement with the Company, and

voluntary workers working with the Company

2.4. What should be reported?

Any serious concerns that you have about service provision or the conduct of officers or members of the Company or others acting on behalf of the Company that:

make you feel uncomfortable in terms of known standards;

are not in keeping with the Company’s policies;

fall below established standards of practice; or

are improper behaviour

These might relate to:

conduct which is an offence or a breach of the law (a criminal offence has been committed or failing to comply with any other legal obligation)

disclosures related to miscarriages of justice

racial, sexual, disability or other discrimination

health and safety of the public and/or other employees

damage to the environment

unauthorised use of funds or other assets

possible fraud and corruption

neglect or abuse of clients, suppliers or

other unethical conduct.

This list is not exhaustive.

Protecting the Whistleblower

3.1. Your legal rights

This policy has been written to take account of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 which protects workers making disclosures about certain matters of concern, when those disclosures are made in accordance with the Act’s provisions and in the public interest.

The Act makes it unlawful for the Company to dismiss anyone or allow them to be victimised on the basis that they have made an appropriate lawful disclosure in accordance with the Act.

Rarely, a case might arise where it is the employee that has participated in the action causing concern. In such a case it is in the employee’s interest to come into the open as soon as possible. The Company cannot promise not to act against such an employee, but the fact that they came forward may be considered.

3.2. Harassment or Victimisation

The Company is committed to good practice and high standards and to being supportive of you as an employee.

The Company recognises that the decision to report a concern can be a difficult one to make. If you honestly and reasonably believe what you are saying is true, you should have nothing to fear because you will be doing your duty to your employer, your colleagues and those for whom you are providing a service.

The Company will not tolerate any harassment or victimisation of a whistleblower (including informal pressures) and will take appropriate action to protect you when you raise a concern in good faith and will treat this as a serious disciplinary offence which will be dealt with under the disciplinary rules and procedure.

3.3. Support to you

Throughout this process:

you will be given full support from senior management

your concerns will be taken seriously, and

the Company will do all it can to help you throughout the investigation

If appropriate, the Company will consider temporarily re-deploying you for the period of the investigation.

For those who are not Company employees, the Company will endeavour to provide appropriate advice and support wherever possible.

3.4. Confidentiality

All concerns will be treated in confidence and every effort will be made not to reveal your identity if that is your wish. If disciplinary or other proceedings follow the investigation, it may not be possible to act because of your disclosure without your help, so you may be asked to come forward as a witness. If you agree to this, you will be offered advice and support.

3.5. Anonymous Allegations

This Policy encourages you to put your name to your allegation whenever possible. If you do not tell us who you are it will be much more difficult for us to protect your position or to give you feedback. This policy is not ideally suited to concerns raised anonymously.

Concerns expressed anonymously are much less powerful but they may be considered at the discretion of the Company. In exercising this discretion, the factors to be considered would include:

the seriousness of the issue raised

the credibility of the concern, and

the likelihood of confirming the allegation from other sources

3.6. Untrue Allegations

If you make an allegation in good faith and reasonably believing it to be true, but it is not confirmed by the investigation, the Company will recognise your concern and you have nothing to fear. If, however, you make an allegation frivolously, maliciously or for personal gain, appropriate action that could include disciplinary action, may be taken.

Raising a Concern

4.1. Who should you raise your concern with?

This will depend on the seriousness and sensitivity of the issues involved and who is suspected of the wrongdoing. You should normally raise concerns with:

If, exceptionally, the concern is about the Chief Executive of the Company your concern should be raised with the Group CFO (James Barton – james.barton@audiotonix.com) who will decide how the investigation will proceed. This may include external investigation.

If you are unsure who to contact you may call the independent charity Public Concern at Work on 0207 404 6609 for advice.

4.2. How to raise a concern

You may raise your concern by telephone, in person or in writing. The earlier you express your concern, the easier it is to act. You will need to provide the following information:

the nature of your concern and why you believe it to be true

the background and history of the concern (giving relevant dates)

Although you are not expected to prove beyond doubt the truth of your suspicion, you will need to demonstrate to the person you contacted that you have a genuine concern relating to suspected wrongdoing or malpractice within the Company and there are reasonable grounds for your concern.

You may wish to consider discussing your concern with a colleague first and you may find it easier to raise the matter if there are two (or more) of you who have had the same experience or concerns.

You may invite your trade union, professional association representative or a friend to be present for support during any meetings or interviews in connection with the concerns you have raised.

What the Company will do

The Company will respond to your concerns as quickly as possible. Do not forget that testing your concerns is not the same as either accepting or rejecting them.

The overriding principle for the Company will be the public interest. To be fair to all employees, including those who may be wrongly or mistakenly accused, initial enquiries will be made to decide whether an investigation is appropriate and, if so, what form it should take.

The investigation may need to be carried out under terms of strict confidentiality, i.e. by not informing the subject of the complaint until (or if) it becomes necessary to do so. In certain cases, however, such as allegations of ill treatment of others, suspension from work may have to be considered immediately. Protection of others is paramount in all cases.

Where appropriate, the matters raised may:

be investigated by management, internal audit, or through the disciplinary/grievance process

be referred to the police

be referred to the external auditor

form the subject of an independent inquiry

Within ten working days of a concern being raised, the person investigating your concern will write to you:

acknowledging that the concern has been received

indicating how the Company proposes to deal with the matter

supplying you with information on staff support mechanisms

telling you whether further investigations will take place and if not, why not

The amount of contact between you and the officers considering the issues will depend on the nature of the matters raised, the potential difficulties involved and the clarity of your information. It is likely that you will be interviewed to ensure that your disclosure is fully understood.

Any meeting can be arranged away from your workplace, if you wish, and a union or professional association representative or a friend may accompany you in support.

The Company will do what it can to minimise any difficulties that you may experience because of raising a concern. For instance, if you are asked to give evidence in criminal or disciplinary proceedings, the Company will arrange for you to receive appropriate advice and support.

You need to be assured that your disclosure has been properly addressed. Unless there are any legal reasons why this cannot be done, you will be kept informed of the progress and outcome of any investigation.

The Responsible Officer

The Monitoring Officer (Helen Culleton) has overall responsibility for the maintenance and operation of this Policy.

How the Matter can be Taken Further

This Policy is intended to provide you with an avenue within the Company to raise concerns. The Company hopes you will be satisfied with any action taken. If you are not, and you feel it is right to take the matter outside the Company, the following are the Company’s prescribed contacts:

Clive Parritt – clive@parritt.com your trade union

the police

other relevant bodies prescribed by legislation – the Company’s Monitoring Officer or Public Concern at Work will be able to advise you who you can contact

If you raise concerns outside the Company you should ensure that it is to one of these prescribed contacts. A public disclosure to anyone else could take you outside the protection of the Public Interest Disclosure Act and of this Policy.

You should not disclose information that is confidential to the Company or to anyone else, such as a client or contractor of the Company, except to those included in the list of prescribed contacts.

This Policy does not prevent you from taking your own legal advice.

Review of the Policy

The Company’s Policy Committee will review this Policy annually.

Corporate Recording and Monitoring

The Monitoring Officer will maintain a corporate register containing all concerns that are brought to her attention. All officers allocated to investigate a concern must ensure the Monitoring Officer is provided with enough details for the corporate register.

The Monitoring Officer will review the corporate register and produce an annual report for Policy Committee. The report will include a summary of the concerns raised, to which department they related, the post to which the concerns related (if not confidential) and any lessons learned. The report will not include any employee names. The aim of this is to ensure that:

the Company and/or the relevant department learns from mistakes and does not repeat them, and

consistency of approach across the departments

The corporate register together with the annual reports will be available for inspection by internal and external audit, after removing any confidential details.

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